Sony RX100

flashfan

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I am NOT a photographer/photography buff, but am looking for a camera that offers a little more than your basic point and shoot. I would like to be able to "play" a bit with aperture settings and shutter speeds

One other, very important criteria–the camera needs to be small. Oh, and preferably less than $500. The Sony RX100 (I, II, III) and a few other Sony models seem to fit the bill, but are there other cameras to look at? IIRC, I read somewhere that Canon offers a similar (better?) camera.

Thanks in advance for any advice, opinions, knowledge and/or experience with the RX100 or similar cameras.
 

SCEMan

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I bought a mint RX100 for my med cruise vacation last summer to pair with my Pany FZ200. After reading the forums for best settings and some testing I settled upon the best config for my needs. My research was well rewarded and the RX100 produced some great images. The RX100's size allowed it to travel everywhere in my pant pockets. There is a steep learning curve to get the very best results however.
 
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StarHalo

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Couldn't be happier with my RX100; a $3000 DSLR would not be able to keep up with this camera when shooting kids and near-field sports/action. Be aware that most of your money for this camera is going towards some serious pro features, so unless you plan on upping your photography game (I know of a very good book), you could go cheaper for simpler.
 

monkeyboy

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a $3000 DSLR would not be able to keep up with this camera when shooting kids and near-field sports/action.

Sorry, but that's just not true. I also own the RX100 (mkI) and the AF is the weak point of this camera. It can't even come close to the cheapest DSLR in terms of AF performance. It's still a very good camera though, for other purposes but not for sports.
 
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SCEMan

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Sorry, but that's just not true. I also own the RX100 (mkI) and the AF is the weak point of this camera. It can't even come close to the cheapest DSLR in terms of AF performance. It's still a very good camera though, for other purposes but not for sports.

Very true. Although I refer to the RX100 as my "pocket DSLR", it excels at low light and indoor scenes due to its fast lens. However this also makes accurate AF problematic when shooting fast action "wide open".
 

StarHalo

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Sorry, but that's just not true. I also own the RX100 (mkI) and the AF is the weak point of this camera. It can't even come close to the cheapest DSLR in terms of AF performance. It's still a very good camera though, for other purposes but not for sports.

Indoors in low light maybe; once it has lock, hold down the button for 10fps for up to half a minute before it slows. You have several hundred images to choose from, DSLR guy got maybe a couple dozen..
 

monkeyboy

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Indoors in low light maybe; once it has lock, hold down the button for 10fps for up to half a minute before it slows. You have several hundred images to choose from, DSLR guy got maybe a couple dozen..

You'll have several hundred images to chose from and every single one of them will be out of focus.

The Sony A6000 is a camera that can also do very high FPS but can also track AF much better than the RX100, but even that can't beat a cheap DSLR for sports according to Tony Northrup (The author of your book).
 

Overclocker

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RX100 is nice and compact. sensor size is 1-inch so is a lot better tha point and shoots but is still quite small even compared to micro-4/3 or aps-c. that's a 2.7 crop factor same as nikon 1 cameras, needless to say won't give you tons of bokeh

take note the max aperture f/1.8 only happens when you're zoomed all the way out

no lens interchangeability

no IR remotes
 

flashfan

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Thank you for all of the replies. Some of it is way over my head. Any comments on the pros/cons of the different "generations" of the RX 100 (orig. II, III and even IV)? The IV is way over my price limit...but could it really be worth the extra cost?

by Overclocker: "take note the max aperture f/1.8 only happens when you're zoomed all the way out" Yes, this is one of the things I noticed about these cameras--the max aperture settings are so/too low. I think my old SLR camera from many years ago, had a standard lens with max f16.

Lens interchangeability and IR remotes aren't features I'm looking for (at least right now). I was originally looking for a a really small, inexpensive camera to always carry around, but started re-thinking upon noting the "limitations" of those cameras...
 

StarHalo

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Any comments on the pros/cons of the different "generations" of the RX 100 (orig. II, III and even IV)? The IV is way over my price limit...but could it really be worth the extra cost?

by Overclocker: "take note the max aperture f/1.8 only happens when you're zoomed all the way out"

My only experience is with the III and IV; I prefer the III as it gets better battery life, but the IV does 4K video if that's your thing. Expect to pay ~$800 as everyone knows what it's worth (but this is still cheaper than a new interchangeable lens camera kit.)

Lower aperture number is "better", check out that book above if you want to read up on it.
 

SCEMan

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Thank you for all of the replies. Some of it is way over my head. Any comments on the pros/cons of the different "generations" of the RX 100 (orig. II, III and even IV)? The IV is way over my price limit...but could it really be worth the extra cost?

by Overclocker: "take note the max aperture f/1.8 only happens when you're zoomed all the way out" Yes, this is one of the things I noticed about these cameras--the max aperture settings are so/too low. I think my old SLR camera from many years ago, had a standard lens with max f16.

Lens interchangeability and IR remotes aren't features I'm looking for (at least right now). I was originally looking for a a really small, inexpensive camera to always carry around, but started re-thinking upon noting the "limitations" of those cameras...

I don't believe you'll find any cameras the size of the RX100 with an f1.8 aperture at anything other than WA. Or IR remotes or interchangeable lenses either. I certainly wouldn't want to deal with the dust issues of interchangeable lenses on a pocket camera. The RX100 is a worthwhile upgrade from the ever improving smartphone cameras and allows (with simple mods) the ability to easily add filters if desired. I've captured many nice shots using a C-PL.
 

Overclocker

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I don't believe you'll find any cameras the size of the RX100 with an f1.8 aperture at anything other than WA. Or IR remotes or interchangeable lenses either. I certainly wouldn't want to deal with the dust issues of interchangeable lenses on a pocket camera. The RX100 is a worthwhile upgrade from the ever improving smartphone cameras and allows (with simple mods) the ability to easily add filters if desired. I've captured many nice shots using a C-PL.


well we don't know if the OP really needs the cam to be rx100-small. personally i travel w/ nikon j1. definitely not as small as rx100 but it's small enough for me. has IR remote (extremely useful). uses nikon 1 lenses. i got the 50mm equiv f/1.8 prime lens which i use 90% of the time

but if there's a way for a remote shutter release on the rx100 using smartphone app then i might consider it
 

StarHalo

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but if there's a way for a remote shutter release on the rx100 using smartphone app then i might consider it

Yes, the RX100 has a phone app that shows you the live view on your phone, allows you to tap to change the major parameters of the mode you're in (ISO/aperture/shutter/exposure/etc,) I've played with it a few times, it's certainly better than your basic garage door clicker remote. Another app allows you to fire the shutter by waving your hand by the back of the camera, haven't tried that one yet.
 

Overclocker

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Good point. But he didn't mention a desire for lens interchangeability or IR remotes either.

yep. but now he might be! LOL. he said: "I was originally looking for a a really small, inexpensive camera to always carry around, but started re-thinking upon noting the "limitations" of those cameras..."

to me that sounds like a phone camera. back when phones cams weren't good enough i carried this casio S600 literally everywhere. but now the integrated cams are good enough

Y1C5AzE.jpg
 

StarHalo

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"I was originally looking for a a really small, inexpensive camera to always carry around, but started re-thinking upon noting the "limitations" of those cameras..."

to me that sounds like a phone camera.

There's some validity to that; it's been estimated before that your typical film SLR camera with store-shelf Kodachrome film was good for an equivalent 6 megapixels of detail. The 8 megapixels of the iPhone camera can in some ways compare to that in some situations, and you can even download free apps that allow you to do manual settings (what there is to control, there's no aperture to adjust for example.) The camera phone is definitely the best deal going for anyone who wants full-auto point-and-click photography, but once you start getting concerned about "limitations", it's time to invest in something more serious.

For almost 20 years now when I've gone shopping for a camera, my criteria is to get as close to the professional SLR feature set as possible in a compact format; the Sony RX was the natural choice this time around, and it's really paid off, this camera has actually made me a better photographer..
 

Overclocker

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Yes, the RX100 has a phone app that shows you the live view on your phone, allows you to tap to change the major parameters of the mode you're in (ISO/aperture/shutter/exposure/etc,) I've played with it a few times, it's certainly better than your basic garage door clicker remote. Another app allows you to fire the shutter by waving your hand by the back of the camera, haven't tried that one yet.


nice. i'm just a little concerned about the speed and convenience of the whole process

with a simple IR remote you just set the cam then you press the remote. quick and easy. no need to take out your phone, load the app, establish connection w/ the camera, fiddle w/ the settings, etc
 

StarHalo

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That's true, it's obviously not going to be as fast as a simple button remote, but it's also not an extra thing you have to carry. My leather cover case over my shoulder is the entire camera setup, and I'll have the phone in another pocket; I'll transfer a good image to the phone, process it in Pixelmator, then mail it, post it here, etc. No wires, no "docking", no waiting until I'm at a PC, it's a complete self-contained studio. The picture linked in post #17 was shot, processed, then posted here in a few minutes using this system.

Don't forget creative uses for the remote; put the camera in a safe place in a room with kids, or outdoors with wildlife, then go elsewhere and have a seat, relax, watch the action and snap at your leisure..
 
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